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The Best Way to Curb Social Media Addiction

People today are reaping the benefits of the research and development in technology from the previous generations. We are now able to enjoy technology and how it could make our lives easier. One of the parts technology has tapped is in the way we communicate, the automated release of various information reaching all the corners of the world.

In addition, the advent of social media and handiness of mobile devices kept us abreast with what’s going on with our friends and the world over with a push of a button. However, man is getting heavily dependent on social media that some are unable to stay away from it. This is one of the problems society is facing today, increased online presence but sacrificing personal contact.

The social media addiction is becoming rampant, even involving the youth as early as they are able to scroll the screens of their iPads and is increasingly becoming unhealthy. More and more people find themselves unable to complete the tasks they have because they were lured away from it by enticing taglines and quick links. There is a fear of missing out on the latest news, or updates from absolutely everyone.

The aim of these networks is to pique a common man’s interest, including providing information or just pure entertainment but when the usage becomes out of hand, we experience the disadvantages of having everything easily accessible. It is prone to abuse up to the point that a person is no longer able to separate himself from social media. They could either be one of the following:

– People who are more involved in perfecting their online personas but unable to handle reality.

– Increased rate of dissatisfaction with life, because they always see someone having “it” better. Better homes, travel destinations, even pets, that we are overwhelmed with jealousy.

– Those who are unable to be without their devices for a single moment in a day, they even have it while inside the restroom attending to call of nature.

With these alarming symptoms, the best way to curb social media addiction is to go “cold turkey”. Avoid excessive use of social media, fight the urge to share a nonsensical status update or visit the sites on your favorites. Make your usage purposeful, only when you need it. This may not be a great idea right now, but it is the only way for you to achieve balance again, a much needed reset to be able to refocus on your priorities in life.

It might take a couple of days for the effect to settle in as you try to promote a better habit, so in the process make sure to do the following:

– Schedule your screen time.

– Develop or go back to your hobbies

– Cultivate real relationships than online ones

– Read actual books and other materials

If you feel you have become a social media addict, set priorities, challenge yourself and start your own journey to overcoming the addiction.

Breaking Free from Smartphone Addiction

We are the generation that was literally born out of the internet, where gadgets are introduced almost every week, and where smartphone usage is rampant.

Justifying the time that you use your smartphone is easy, after all it is now considered a necessity. But is it just a gadget that serves a purpose or are you addicted to it?

Now we can all agree that smartphone have already evolved from the time Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone. It already has a wide variety of features that would fit anybody’s lifestyle that even our grandparents are relying on it to get things done. But where do we draw the line? When do we know that it is already crossing the line of being useful to being the center of our world?

Smartphone addiction is real, and like any other addiction it could be dangerous not only to you, but to the people around you as well. So in an attempt to break free from this bad habit, we should be able to tell the signs that you are indeed, addicted to your smartphone.

– You have it with you all the time. Yes, you could argue the need to have it around you all the time, especially if your loved ones would want to reach out to you often. But you do not have to check it all the time, and be wary of a single beep tone, which may not be even yours to begin with.

– You waste precious amount of time because you are glued to that screen. Checking Facebook constantly, refreshing your Instagram feeds, not to mention the copious amount of selfies and apps you have, which you are busy with all the time.

– You zone out or commit to a tunnel vision mode when you have your phone. Ever experienced a time when you are no longer in the company of your friends, because you have focused all your attention to your phone instead of them?

– You get extremely anxious when you go to places where using a smartphone is not allowed. Could be school, library, cinema, or even the church, you even dread going to them at times because you are going to be separated from your smartphone.

– You get in trouble while using your phone. This does not only mean the detention you could get for using your phone inside the classroom, but also the physical dangers you could encounter. Perhaps you failed to realize that the stoplight has already changed or a trip hazard is on the way, all because you are too busy with your phone.

Any of these sound familiar? If yes, then you are probably having an unhealthy amount of time spent with your smartphone and is very much addicted to it. Now let us give you a few tips on how to manage your smartphone use, so that you could break free from it.

Set up rules. These rules could go from a schedule to follow where you could freely access your mobile device or set up smartphone free areas around the house, like the dinner table to promote actual communication.

Take a break from your phone. Especially at night, it would be better to actually turn off or switch your phone to silent mode an hour before you go to bed. Also refrain from putting it in an arm’s reach to prevent you from accessing it through the night.

Go retro. What we meant by this is to try using other products that could function the same way you use your smartphone for. Pretty retro, right? It could be as simple as, actually using an alarm clock because your smartphone is supposed to be out of your reach.

Promote actual communication. If you are in the same place as the person you want to communicate with, then give the person a pat and talk to them! You don’t need to message them, especially around the house. Your family needs you and not your online persona, so just be with them and you might actually find communicating with them physically much easier than texting.

The reason why our generation is emotionally detached, is because we are losing contact, actual physical contact. We are relying heavily on social media to be updated and to communicate with our friends and family members. This is precisely the reason why we develop affinity to smartphones, but in the end, we have to realize that these gadgets are built to enable us to improve our communication and not destroy it.